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Showing posts with label india. Show all posts
Showing posts with label india. Show all posts

Friday, October 16, 2009

What happened that dark night following the passing of Shoghi Effendi?


Mason Remey wrote in his daily observation:
Twenty-six of the twenty-seven Hands of the Faith assembled in conclave in the great pillared hall of the Mansion of Bahjí at ‘Akká in the early afternoon. After the reading of prayers, [they] read the report of those of us who had searched in the Guardian’s rooms and found no will and testament among his papers. Such in a few words was our report. Upon Rúhíyyih Khánum’s the widow of Shoghi Effendi insistence, no minutes or written records were kept of the proceedings of the conclave. .. I remember, some talk upon the parts of a number of our members about inconsequential things and then the meeting was adjourned until the following morning.
Several of us, including myself, returned to Haifa for the night while the rest, consisting of all of the Persian Hands, remained the night at Bahjí where we who had gone to Haifa for the night met with them on the following morning.
Following prayers and some mention of the Guardianship to the effect that no will or testament had been found in the safe or in the desk of Shoghi Effendi, Dr. Muhájir, the youngest of the Persian Hands, sprang to his feet proposing that the Will and Testament of the Master ‘Abdu’l-Bahá be pronounced BADAH and that the Guardianship be ended forever and closed forever. This was immediately seconded and carried enthusiastically and supported by all the Persian Hands who spoke to the point supporting this putting aside for a thousand years (until the coming of the next Manifestation) the Institution of the Guardianship – allowing that this next coming Manifestation might then possibly see fit to reestablish the Guardianship if he thought best in a thousand years from this present date – but as far as this Dispensation was concerned that there should be no more Guardianship.
Each of the Persian Hands spoke supporting this motion – each repeating practically verbatim the same argument so one could understand at first thought that they had talked it up and decided it all beforehand. This entire matter was so quickly done and its passage pressed and accomplished so quickly, that it was very apparent that at some time during those night hours these Persian Hands at Bahjí had consulted together and made a covenant amongst themselves and had made this arrangement to pronounce the Guardianship BADAH and thus railroad the matter through and carry the day. Furthermore, Rúhíyyih Khánum concurred with this majority so their point was carried by the majority.

Friday, June 12, 2009

MEANING OF THE COVENANT

"As regards the meaning of the Bahá'í Covenant:
The Guardian considers the existence of two forms of Covenant both of which are explicitly mentioned in the literature of the Cause.

1.
First is the Covenant that every Prophet makes with humanity or, more definitely, with His people that they will accept and follow the coming Manifestation who will be the reappearance of His reality.

2.
The second form of Covenant is such as the one Bahá'u'lláh made with His people that they should accept the Master. This is merely to establish and strengthen the succession of the series of Lights that appear after every Manifestation. Under the same category falls the Covenant the Master made with the Bahá'ís that they should accept His administration after Him."

(Shoghi Effendi, Directives from the Guardian, p. 15)

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

IRANIAN BAHA'I PRISONERS: The Prisoners of their Conscience

Dear readers,
we the Orthodox Baha’is of the world bring to your kind notice that the newspapers of India and other countries have reported that:

The Iranian ISNA news agency has reported that seven Baha’is are to be put on trial in an Iranian revolutionary court on charges of:

1. Espionage for Israel

2. Insulting religious sanctities

3. Propaganda against the Islamic Republic.

Please note that we, as members of the Orthodox Baha'i Faith, are not affiliated with this Baha’i organization whose members have been accused allegedly of being against this government or country or shall we ever be involved in any kind of espionage, or be guilty of insulting any religion or issuing propaganda against the constitutions of any country.

We follow the commands of the living Guardian of the Baha’i Faith.Our beloved Guardian, Joel Bray Marangella, the third Guardian of Baha’i Faith, has taught us that according to the Teachings of Baha'u'llah, the Founder of the Baha'i Faith, a true Bahai must be completely obedient to the government and follow the laws of the country. We should not insult any religion and must respect them all equally.

We have been enjoined by Him to eliminate:

1. Religious prejudice

2. Racial prejudice

3. Prejudice against women

4. National prejudice
We find in one of the Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Baha in the book titled "Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha" in which He mentioned the Teachings of Baha'u'llah which He stated "abrogate and nullify religious, racial, political, patriotic and economic prejudices."

The members of this Baha'i organization, who do not accept the living Guardian of the Faith, and who have therefore been classified by us as Heterodox Bahai's, should consider the flagrant inequity and injustice of their own recent decision to initiate legal action against us in a civil court in the United States with the objective of preventing us from calling ourselves Baha'is and using the sacred symbols of our Faith.

We ask them:

Why cannot we call ourselves “Baha’is?

Why cannot we use the word Baha’i?

While these Heterodox Baha'is claim to believe in the elimination of the same prejudices that we do, as listed above, why do they not observe what they preach in their relationship with us?

We therefore invite and urge them to eliminate their blatant prejudice against the Orthodox Baha’is and permit us to freely practice the Bahai Faith under the Guardianship of the living Guardian, Joel Bray Marangella.

We pray for the long life of our Guardian.

Dr. A. Parikh